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The Malawati Stadium COVID-19 Assessment Centre (CAC) in Shah Alam has seen an increase in the number of COVID-19 patients in the last week, resulting in overcrowding
In what has been considered to be the centre’s highest turnout to date, more than 4,000 COVID-19 positive patients flocked to the Malawati Stadium CAC yesterday, 12 July.
People of all ages were seen queueing up under the hot sun, in long lines that stretched far beyond the stadium’s boundaries, in photos and videos that have since gone viral on social media.
The massive crowd includes COVID-19 patients who were waiting for their medical assessments and those who needed to get their quarantine bracelets removed.
Image via Afif Abd Halim/The Malaysian Insight
The congestion was so bad that a total of five people allegedly fainted while queueing up outside
Sinar Harian reporter Nurul Riduan Nor Ashaha said that he saw five people fainting due to shortness of breath while waiting in the long registration queue.
He added that the medical team were in a state of disarray when the patients fainted.
Norfazilah Mohd Sahir, a Buletin TV3 news reporter, also shared a video of a patient being rolled into the stadium on a stretcher by the medical team.
Image via Twitter
The stadium is the largest CAC in Selangor, as it receives nearly 2,000 COVID-19 patients daily, from within and outside the Petaling district
According to New Straits Times, Darul Ehsan Facilities Management (DEFM) manager Ahmad Sayuti Bashiron, who is also the CAC facilities coordinator, said the turnout was unprecedented.
Ahmad Sayuti said the CAC was initially scheduled to receive 3,616 patients for assessment yesterday.
“However, yesterday was by far the highest number of infected patients recorded at the CAC in a single day, numbering more than 4,000,” he added.
Ahmad Sayuti speculated that the overwhelming turnout may be caused by the fact that the CAC, which is open Monday through Saturday, was closed on Sunday, resulting in a congestion.
Selangor accounted for 8,909 cases out of the 18,458 new COVID-19 cases that Malaysia recorded over the weekend.
Image via Afif Abd Halim/The Malaysian Insight
However, earlier today, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said the congestion at two CACs in Selangor that went viral do not reflect the actual situation experienced at the location on a daily basis
He told Berita Harian that the CACs in Selangor are always well managed and organised based on public health protocols.
The handling of individuals present for inspection and risk assessment always complies with the standard operating procedures (SOPs), Adham Baba added.
“We are able to take all of them in an orderly manner and ensure that it runs in an orderly manner as well as in accordance with public health protocols,” he told Berita Harian.
“So if they come in large numbers, it is because there are several manufacturing sectors sending their workers by bus, simultaneously.”
“On a normal day, there are no problems and there is no congestion as viralled.”
In light of this incident, experts have suggested that the COVID-19 assessment process needs to be re-evaluated to ensure everyone’s safety is safeguarded
International Medical University (IMU) pro vice-chancellor and Academy of Medicine of Malaysia (AMM) council member Dr Zabidi Hussin told Malaysiakini that having so many positive patients in one location is a “big no-no”, since it is risky for the medical team on duty.
He proposed developing a virtual evaluation system in which the COVID-19 patients are examined via video calls or other similar means instead of assessing them physically at CACs.
“Then we can set up a huge call centre to monitor (the patients). If you see there are patients who need further evaluation, they can be brought in,” he told Malaysiakini, adding that this system has been successfully implemented by Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, USA.